


charmed by the pale moon

by fifty-one sunsets (idyleski)



Category: Golden Child (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, First Meetings, Getting Together, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28700298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idyleski/pseuds/fifty-one%20sunsets
Summary: The heavy scent of oil and grease fills the brisk April night and Seungmin's stomach rumbles. He glances up at Youngtaek who's pouting at the box of food. The moonlight catches the curve of his cheek when he meets Seungmin's gaze with a sheepish smile accompanied by a youthful twinkle to his eyes. In that moment, framed by the soft silver light from the sliver of the moon, Youngtaek looks like a wide-eyed, innocent boy. Something tugs on Seungmin's chest and the retort dies on the tip of his tongue.Seungmin hates jocks so when Youngtaek approaches him at a party wearing a varsity jacket Seungmin turns him down. But maybe, Youngtaek isn't like what Seungmin initially believes.
Relationships: Bae Seungmin/Son Youngtaek | TAG
Comments: 8
Kudos: 42
Collections: Golden Age Fic Fest





	charmed by the pale moon

**Author's Note:**

> [Prompt #94](https://tinyurl.com/gaffpa)
> 
> whoever came up to this prompt: you are a goddamn genius. i wasn't super into golcha back then but i saw this and my mind went: WOW MUST WRITE MUST JOIN and now...i am here. i enjoyed this prompt so much so a serious thanks to you and the mods of this fest!!! tysm to r, who not only introduced me to golcha earlier last year, but was also the reason i found out about this whole fest!! [golcha voice] without you~ i wouldnt have been able to finish this fic at all. fjaksldf ty for betaing, always being so quick to link me to resources, and helping me figure out all the plot kinks when i came crying to you. i think i can officially say i am sold to the baetag ship after this. 
> 
> full disclaimer, i have nothing against jocks or celeb five TT__TT
> 
> title taken from [dawn and firefly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDbNRb9gOr4) by n-buna.

If there's something Seungmin hates more than loud parties with more bodies stuffed into a space than fire safety code allows, it's getting ditched by a friend at a loud party with more bodies stuffed into the room than fire safety code allows. Jibeom had zoomed away the moment they stepped through the door, something about a roommate and mess and trouble, leaving Seungmin to fend for himself.

As Seungmin shoves his way past a small circle of tall people that also tower over him, he curses Jibeom under his breath. He's way too sober to be here alone and Donghyun said he wasn't coming for another hour. At least whoever's hosting this party has good taste in alcohol, Seungmin thinks to himself as he knocks back a drink. He had managed to find a bottle of quality soju, or as quality as most university students could afford.

After he's downed enough shots to feel the beginning of a light buzz, and snatched an extra bottle because one never knows, Seungmin begins to wander the party in hopes of finding a familiar face. Jibeom is still nowhere to be seen and this only sours Seungmin's mood. He thinks he spots Jangjun in the center of the living room, a circle of people crowded around him and cheering. Seungmin debates the pros and cons of elbowing his way through the wall of human bodies to reach Jangjun, who will probably just shove him back into the crowd, or wandering the party to find someone else he knows.

"You're looking a bit lonely, cutie," An unfamiliar voice says.

Seungmin blinks. There's no one else in the hallway besides him.

"Yes, you." The person says again.

Seungmin follows a pair of long legs in _very_ fitting black skinny jeans up to a narrow waist that looks even smaller in an oversized red and white jacket, a nice contrast to his wide shoulders.The man has a youthful face and wide eyes. A lazy, self-assured grin graces his lips and it causes Seungmin's blood to boil. He would be Seungmin's type except for one glaringly obvious fact: the varsity basketball jacket.

If there's something Seungmin hates more than getting ditched by a friend at a loud party with more bodies stuffed into the room than fire safety code allows, it's jocks. Seungmin had grown up smaller than other kids, his teammates towering over him as they shot up growth spurt after growth spurt and he only grew five centimeters one summer instead of his usual two. His height is a perpetual sore spot, especially when it involves people of the athletic kind. There's something about a simple, overrated varsity jacket and being on a sports team that makes jocks think they can just swagger up to Seungmin and literally look down on him. It's even worse when they try to flirt with him. Seungmin isn't above kicking them in the shins. He's a black belt in kendo and more than confident in his own strength. Sure, he may not be able to outbench Jangjun or outrun Sungyoon, but he can put up a good fight of his own.

So, seeing the red and white varsity jacket on those broad shoulders with that teasing smirk causes all of Seungmin's unpleasant memories from high school and his underclassman years to resurface.

"Sorry, I thought you meant the poster of Celeb Five on the wall," Seungmin snorts. Whoever lives here needs better taste.

"I mean… Celeb Five aren’t... that bad-looking but you're cuter," the man says. "I'm Youngtaek. Is there a name I can put to that cute face?"

Seungmin flushes. It's a testament to how much alcohol is in his system because he usually doesn't get riled up so easily, not anymore at least, nor does he blush at such _awful_ pick-up lines. Seungmin has standards, thank you very much.

"Not for you." He drinks more of his soju, thanking his past self for his wonderful, wonderful foresight.

"Aw, come on," Youngtaek whines. He makes his way over to Seungmin, not quite stumbling but most definitely not sober. His drink sloshes in his open cup. And it's like the whole world slows to a stop as Youngtaek trips over his own two feet, drink arching up in the air before it lands on Seungmin's shirt.

Seungmin fixes Youngtaek with his most unimpressed stare.

Youngtaek's eyes widen. He scrambles up, as if snapping to sobriety, as he pats Seungmin's chest. "Oh shit, man, I'm so so _so_ sorry." Youngtaek's hands continue to pat him and it only makes the sticky, wet feeling even worse.

Seungmin's nerves are ticking down and he takes a deep breath before he pushes Youngtaek's hands to the side, marching out of the room and straight into Donghyun.

"I'm leaving," he snaps, shoving his half-empty bottle into Donghyun's hands.

"What happened to you?" Donghyun asks, "Joochan and I just got here."

"I can see that," Seungmin says dryly. He gestures to his dripping shirt and tries his best not to think about Youngtaek's wide eyes.

Donghyun lets out a low whistle. "Oof." He peeks into the bedroom.

"Yeah, well, goodbye," Seungmin huffs, walking past Donghyun and out of the party.

Seungmin leaves lecture feeling like his brain just went through a blender and with his eyes glued to his phone. If his neck weren't craned downwards as he furiously texted Jangjun, or if his brain wasn't mush, he might have avoided his current situation.

"Woah there, that's the second time you crashed into me," Youngtaek says. His hands are warm and steady on Seungmin's shoulders, holding him firmly in place. "Careful now."

Seungmin cranes his head, and he _hates_ how he needs to do so, to see a bright grin on Youngtaek's face.

"Actually, you were the one who crashed into me the first time," he retorts.

At that, Youngtaek's ears turn a firetruck red. Thank god he at least has the decency to be embarrassed. "Uh, yeah, I'm like really _really_ sorry about that, dude. Which brings me to my next point."

Seungmin glowers as Youngtaek stumbles over his words. His grip on Seungmin's shoulders tighten. The students that stayed behind to ask questions are emerging from the lecture hall and giving the two of them strange glances.

"Let me treat you to lunch? To make it up to you?" Youngtaek asks, and the thing is, he sounds so _eager_ and genuinely apologetic. Seungmin makes the mistake of looking into those wide, childlike eyes and his heart melts just a tiny bit.

"Your hands are digging into my shoulder," Seungmin says instead. There’s no better dodging tactic than pointing out someone else’s social awkwardness. 

"Is that a yes?" Youngtaek's eyes light up. His hands still haven't left Seungmin's shoulders.

"It's a maybe," Seungmin scoffs, finally brushing Youngtaek's hands away from his shoulders. He needs to bite down the smile pulling on his lips as Youngtaek's face lights up like a child’s on Christmas.

"And you _turned down_ his offer for _free_ food?" Joochan gasps.

"I didn't turn it down," Seungmin corrects, "I delayed it to another time."

"Still," Joochan bemoans, "You could've gotten him to take you to that fancy new restaurant down the street."

Donghyun scoffs, smacking the back of Joochan's head. "That's called exploitation. Not that someone like you has the morals to care."

Joochan shrugs. It's a very well-known fact that Joochan's first love is food and his second love is fried chicken. It's also a well-known fact that Donghyun leaps at any chance to fight with Joochan. Their bickering is as cute as it is annoying.

"But how are you gonna get a free meal if you don't even have the guy's number?" Joochan asks.

"Oh, Jangjun gave Youngtaek Seungmin's number," Donghyun says nonchalantly.

"Jangjun _what_?" Seungmin yelps. Also, "You _know_ Youngtaek and you didn't tell me this?" 

"Why else do you think Youngtaek was outside after your lecture today?" Donghyun scoffs. "And you left before I could say anything."

Seungmin pinches the bridge of his nose in an attempt to delay the oncoming headache. Of course it'd be Jangjun to give out both his schedule and number to some asshole on the basketball team. _A cute asshole_ , a voice that sounds suspiciously similar to Sungyoon's supplies. 

"Great, just great," Seungmin mutters to himself as he quietly imagines ways to exact his revenge.

If there's one thing Seungmin will give Youngtaek, it's his persistence. The third time he shows up to the end of Seungmin's morning lecture, this time with an iced Americano in hand, Seungmin succumbs to his conscience and Youngtaek's puppy-dog eyes.

"An iced coffee was fine, you didn't have to get me lunch too," Seungmin mumbles as he sits down.

"It's fine, I wanted to!" Youngtaek insists. "I like treating friends to meals."

"Friends? After you ruined my shirt?" Seungmin raises an eyebrow, just because he can't resist.

"Oh my god, I'm never gonna get to live that down, am I?"

"Nope," Seungmin grins.

"But, um, we can be? If you want to be? Maybe?" Youngtaek tries. He picks at the stray threads of his jacket. It's not the basketball varsity jacket he wore at the party the other day but it's clearly the jacket of some other university athletic team. Seungmin frowns.

Youngtaek meets his gaze and there it is, that same earnestness he had when he drunkenly attempted to clean up the spill on Seungmin's shirt at the party and when he handed Seungmin that iced Americano, offering to pay for lunch after Seungmin's first not-rejection. It's kind of endearing, in the same way a puppy is. Truth is, Seungmin forgave Youngtaek for the incident somewhere between his second and third attempts to offer lunch.

"Maybe," Seungmin says, and Youngtaek's face lights up in a brilliant smile.

Youngtaek worms his way into Seungmin's life with alarming alacrity. Before he knows it, they (officially) exchange numbers and meet up to get meals and attempt to study in the library together. Youngtaek scratches his neck sheepishly as Seungmin finds his number saved under _the short cutie i accidentally spilled jungle juice on at the party_ when Youngtaek hands him his phone. (He rolls his eyes, renaming himself before handing Youngtaek's phone back to him.) Seungmin finds himself texting Youngtaek in class when he should be paying attention to his professors.

"What's with you these days?" Sungyoon squints before shoveling down another bite of noodles. "You're awfully smiley and not all–" Sungyoon makes a face, eyebrows knitted together in an exaggerated manner and lips pursed. It's only because Seungmin's known him since they were in high school, when Sungyoon was the school's beloved track star and the only upperclassman who didn't look down on him in fitness, that he swallows his annoyance.

"I don't look like that." Seungmin's eyebrows twitch. He _does not_ have sad and distressed eyebrows. His eyebrows are merely bushier than the average person’s and slightly downturned. 

"Uh-huh, and Jangjun doesn't skip Monday lectures every week because of his massive hangovers," Sungyoon scoffs. "So...who is it?"

"Just some guy," Seungmin mumbles. His phone pings with a new text from Youngtaek and Seungmin bites down a smile at the notification.

"Just some guy, huh."

There's an all-too-familiar glint in Sungyoon's eyes. Seungmin doesn't have enough time to prepare himself before his wrists are pinned to the table. Sungyoon snatches his cell, looking far too smug for his own good. It's okay, Seungmin can play dirty. Tall people _always_ forget about their shins.

"Oooh, I didn't know you were into–"

"Youngtaek!" Seungmin exclaims underneath Sungyoon's headlock.

Youngtaek eyes the two of them as Seungmin quickly extricates himself, making sure to pinch Sungyoon's side. He can’t quite read the look in Youngtaek’s gaze. Seungmin knows the other man, knows that he always burns his hand when making instant ramen and spam, but there’s so much Seungmin has to learn about him as well. 

"I was, uh, actually just looking for you," Youngtaek says. He scratches the back of his neck, alternating between glancing at his feet and at the two of them. For some reason, he doesn't meet Sungyoon's eyes.

"Oh?" Seungmin hates the way the eagerness creeps into his tone. He's usually never like this, but there's something about the way Youngtaek chews on his lips in anticipation and how just as he approached them, Seungmin saw him bump into a table and almost knock over someone's laptop.

Beside him, Sungyoon grins.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you were free now," Youngtaek admits.

Sungyoon shifts and Seungmin _knows_ that nothing good is going to come out of it. So, he pulls quite possibly the lowest move in history. "Hey, remember Daeyeol, my TA from last semester? Yeah, I think I see him over there." Seungmin stomps on Sungyoon's foot, snatches his phone, then grabs Youngtaek's hand as he speedwalks out of the student center.

"Sorry about Sungyoon. We aren’t dating or anything. We've known each other since high school and he's always like that." Seungmin apologizes. He’s not sure why he feels the need to tack on that one fact– it’s not like Youngtaek asked and it’s not like Seungmin cares what other people think. _Not that much, most of the time. Not unless it’s about your height or what a cute guy thinks of you,_ his inner voice helpfully supplies.

"I didn't know that." Youngtaek still has a slightly dazed look in his eyes. "It's all good, man."

It's not until they've passed the chemistry building that Seungmin realizes he has no idea where they're headed and Youngtaek's palm is quite sweaty in his. Seungmin drops Youngtaek's hand, and– yeah, judging by the way Youngtaek wipes his hand on his jeans and the light pink dusting his cheeks, he definitely noticed.

"Um, sorry, where exactly are we headed again?" Seungmin coughs.

"Oh, uh," Youngtaek begins, an embarrassed smile creeping up his face. It's how Seungmin finds himself trekking back across campus to watch the dogs in the park, hand brushing occasionally against Youngtaek's for the entire walk.

For someone always meticulously dressed, with long legs that could give a model a run for their money, and who looks suave and put together, Youngtaek is surprisingly strange. Seungmin doesn't even mean strange like Sungyoon is sometimes or Jangjun's particular brand of weird. No, Youngtaek is his own, distinct brand of bizarre.

He's seen Youngtaek carry a tray of assorted drinks in miniature Dixie cups around the student center just because some club was giving out free samplers to attract people to their upcoming event. He's seen Youngtaek's face contort into the stuff of nightmares as he laughs with glee, dropping to the ground in the middle of the library at funny YouTube videos and getting them kicked out. Seungmin has also watched with fascination as Youngtaek engaged in a blowing battle with his dormitory fan on a particularly warm afternoon. Sometimes, he's not sure if Youngtaek is even human.

Right now, Seungmin regrets his decision to not bring a jacket. He eyes the black bomber on Youngtaek's broad frame enviously. Youngtaek meets Seungmin's eyes and grins, the one where his mouth is stretched to its fullest and his nose gets all scrunched up.

"So, why didn't we just order fried chicken for delivery again?" Seungmin questions.

"I forgot you could do that," Youngtaek says. "Also, I couldn't sleep. Wanted to take a walk."

Fifteen minutes earlier, Youngtaek had shown up to Seungmin's dorm at 2 AM, knocking like a madman instead of just _texting_ or calling like a normal person. Seungmin's just lucky he didn't throw stones at his window to get his attention because one, Youngtaek would most definitely miss, and two, all of Seungmin's floormates would hate him. He's even luckier that Donghyun has recently started spending the night somewhere else a few days of the week. Seungmin shudders at the potential fight. Yeah, he's definitely going to need Youngtaek to text the next time he drags Seungmin out in the middle of the night due to a fried chicken craving.

"Why were you still up, anyway?" Youngtaek kicks the gravel on the ground, shoving his hands into his pocket.

"Some paper." It's not due until next week but the words had started to swim on Seungmin's laptop. He usually frequented the convenience store for late-night snacks around this time anyway. He's certain the cashier has all his weird snack combinations memorized.

Youngtaek wrinkles his nose. "Gross. Let's not talk about coursework anymore. Let’s… contemplate the meaning of life and try not to think about post-grad life," Youngtaek says. His chatter fills the otherwise quiet night with a buoyancy that Seungmin didn’t know was possible, hands waving animatedly and constantly brushing against Seungmin as he speaks.

"Oh, I didn't realize it was takeout only," Youngtaek says somberly, once they've finally gotten their chicken.

"You come here often and you didn't know that?"

"Hey, I usually get takeout at this time–" Youngtaek defends.

The heavy scent of oil and grease fills the brisk April night and Seungmin's stomach rumbles. He glances up at Youngtaek who's pouting at the box of food. The moonlight catches the curve of his cheek when he meets Seungmin's gaze with a sheepish smile accompanied by a youthful twinkle to his eyes. In that moment, framed by the soft silver light from the sliver of the moon, Youngtaek looks like a wide-eyed, innocent boy. Something tugs on Seungmin's chest and the retort dies on the tip of his tongue.

"Whatever," he scoffs, "Let's just go back and contemplate life over cold fried chicken."

Youngtaek's smile breaks out into a full grin, nose scrunching up. Seungmin spends the whole walk back attempting to ignore the fluttering in his heart.

Seungmin finds himself walking down a familiar set of halls on his quest to retrieve Youngtaek's problem set for him. Earlier, Youngtaek had frantically texted him before his class. Unfortunately due to the wonders of waking up for a 6am practice, he had forgotten both his problem set (due in an hour) and his keys in his dorm room. Seungmin's next lecture is close to Youngtaek's. Before, when he and Youngtaek didn't exchange constant text messages, he had thought that Youngtaek was lowkey stalking him. It wasn't until he confronted the other man about it that he found out they had lectures in adjacent buildings

Seungmin stares at Youngtaek's text. He's arrived in front of the room and there's something oddly familiar about the number and the large scratch on the bottom of the door.

"What are you here for?" Jibeom demands.

"You're Youngtaek's roommate?" Seungmin asks, confounded.

"Yeah...? Jaehyun too," Jibeom says, "I told you at the party I was going to find one of my roommates. Youngtaek was doing something dumb."

"Oh."

That probably did happen. Youngtaek does plenty of dumb things, like doing backflips in the middle of campus just to get a free box of doughnuts. Seungmin should pay more attention to his surroundings and his friends' social circles. Maybe then he wouldn't be so clueless and, perhaps, friends with people who actually shared his major that could help him with homework.

As he enters the room, he observes the strewn sheets of paper, empty two-liter bottles of Coke, and an overabundance of ramen packets in the room. Not that Seungmin is in any position to judge. If he didn't live with Donghyun, his room would also be in a similar state.

"I'm here to get Youngtaek's problem set..." Seungmin's not sure why he feels so awkward. He's known Jibeom since their freshmen year when Jibeom still spoke with a thick Busan accent. Maybe it's because Jibeom seems to think clashing striped Crocs and a striped shirt seem to be appropriate house wear. Usually, he has something less offending.

Seungmin quickly locates Youngtaek's problem set and staples the loose bundles of paper together. His eyes linger on the polaroid on Youngtaek’s desk, the one he and Youngtaek took together at some student-run fair with corny props and awful free food. He also spots a familiar red and white varsity jacket, all crumpled up and tossed carelessly on the third desk in the room.

Seungmin currently has his neck buried deep into his textbooks when two large hands clap his shoulders. He jumps in surprise as his headphones are yanked off.

"Guess who," A familiar voice trills.

"You just got spit in my eyes," Seungmin groans as he shoves Jangjun's face away.

"Hey watch it. This–" Jangjun gestures to his face, covered with sweat from practice, "is precious property."

Seungmin snorts, snatching his headphones back and shutting his laptop. With Jangjun around, there's no hope of getting anything done. He'd long since resigned himself to that fact a year prior, when Jangjun spotted the "adorable, short, lost-looking freshman sitting alone in the student center" and decided it'd be a great idea to befriend him because he had an extra half hour to kill. Luckily, none of Jangjun's teammates are loitering in the cafe, waiting for him.

"What do you want?" Seungmin demands.

Jangjun's face splits into a large grin. "Why do you always assume the worst?" He tugs Seungmin closer to him, straight into his pungent, sweat-soaked side.

"You’re filthy," Seungmin complains. He attempts to push Jangjun off him but Jangjun's grip is firm and strong.

"You wound me, Seungminie," Jangjun moans as he clutches his chest in mock hurt. Seungmin only rolls his eyes; Jangjun has always been overly fond of dramatics. Seungmin says nothing about the nickname, opting to pack up his bag as Jangjun begins a mini soliloquy. Waiting Jangjun out doesn't work either, especially in the student center. Seungmin would prefer not to be stuck here for hours.

"So, a little birdie told me–" Jangjun leans in conspiratorially.

Seungmin quietly notes he needs to have a very _firm_ talk with Sungyoon.

"– that you and Youngtaek are a thing." Jangjun waggles his eyebrows in that obnoxious way of his, the one that makes Seungmin kind of want to punch him sometimes. The sly smile dancing on Jangjun's lips reeks of trouble.

"We aren't a _thing_. We're just friends."

The tips of Seungmin's ears burn. He's not entirely opposed to the idea and may be a bit more than pleased by Jangjun– and by extension Sungyoon's– insinuation. Maybe he does want to be a _thing_ with Youngtaek, whose childlike antics make Seungmin's face hurt from smiling so much.

"Wait, you know Youngtaek?" Seungmin should seriously start keeping up with his friends' friends.

Jangjun rolls his eyes. "Of course I know Youngtaek," he drawls as if it's the most obvious fact in the world. "Why else do you think he was at that party? The soccer guys and a few other teams were pregaming together and he had to go over on a dare. Didn't expect anything else to come out of it though."

"A dare?"

"Yeah," Jangjun says, "You know how the guys are."

Seungmin does, in fact, know how _the guys_ are. Most of the time, when he's far away, he can ignore their jeers. At parties, when _the guys_ have drunk enough that they can no longer walk straight and are willing to make out with the nearest warm body, it's harder. Seungmin doesn't take well to catcalls or hooded eyes raking over his body. He hates the comments about his height and just how small he is. He's been the subject of one too many dares by the guys for another one of _the guys_. Back when he was a naive, innocent wide-eyed underclassman he was better at ignoring the snide comments. These days, Seungmin doesn't let inebriated strangers within a meter of him. Maybe he still has some residual trauma from his high school days, when he was bullied away from all the team sports except for kendo, back when one's coolness factor was equivalent to their height _and_ athleticism. So yes, Bae Seungmin is all too familiar with how _the guys_ are as a group, an abstract entity, a concept, a social construct– _whatever_ – and he does his damn best to avoid them.

"Oh." Seungmin is definitely going to regret this. "And...what exactly was the dare?"

Jangjun pauses. He purses his lips, index finger on chin, as though in deep thought. It does nothing to assuage the restlessness swirling in the pit of Seungmin's stomach.

"Asking out the cutest guy at the party? I think he actually had to go out on a date too, or something. Honestly, I don't remember much of that night."

And the penny drops. Seungmin's stomach twists at the thought. A deep, dark fury rises within him, roaring in his chest before it spreads out to the rest of his body. He can't believe he actually thought that Youngtaek's initial, puppy-like eagerness was who Youngtaek was as a person and not because of some messed up dare. He can't believe he actually fell for Youngtaek's megawatt smile and his strange antics. Seungmin should have known the instant he saw that red and white jacket on Youngtaek’s frame before he stumbled towards him.

"I see." Seungmin's hands tighten into fists and his lips curl into a frown. He quickly dismisses himself, Jangjun none the wiser, and ignores the way his hands won't stop shaking the entire walk back to his dorm.

If there was an Olympic category for avoiding someone you used to hang out with every day, both in person and over text, Seungmin would be the reigning five-times gold medalist. Since his talk with Jangjun, he'd all but dropped communication with Youngtaek besides a few initial terse texts until Youngtaek finally got the hint.

The thing is though, Seungmin still sees Youngtaek everywhere. He always chances upon Youngtaek as he scurries to his next lecture or when he's on his way to the gym with Sungyoon. At first, he writes it off as sheer coincidence, but when he spots Youngtaek's slender frame scrambling behind a pillar as he exits the library at closing time, he becomes suspicious.

As soon as Seungmin spots Youngtaek, he either flees the premise or resolutely ignores him. It's gotten to the point where Seungmin has even started to use Daeyeol as a barrier to hide behind, bless his former TA's soul. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Okay," Donghyun says one night, "Who killed your cat?"

"You did," Seungmin mutters glumly into his pillow, "because you're a clean freak."

Donghyun huffs, throwing his pencil at Seungmin. Seungmin chucks it back.

"Sorry, that was mean," he mumbles underneath Donghyun's withering gaze. Seungmin really doesn't mind Donghyun's obsessive cleaning tendencies, even though it does mean he can't sleep in until 1 PM on the weekends sometimes. He's rather thankful, actually, since it means he gets to clean less and have a cleaner room.

"Seriously, recently you've been all," Donghyun twists his face into an exaggerated expression.

"Thanks," Seungmin deadpans.

"Well, I'm only telling the truth. It's annoying how you keep on clinging onto us," Donghyun says.

"I do not _cling_ ," Seungmin retorts. Seungmin just sticks to Donghyun and Joochan's sides until they shove him away so he sulks until one of them finally caves. There's a reason why Daeyeol has proven to be the best barrier so far. Now, he and Daeyeol regularly get lunch. Sungyoon is only kind of fuming.

Donghyun rolls his eyes like he thinks Seungmin is full of shit, which he is most definitely not. "Yeah and you aren't ignoring Youngtaek. Joochan and I just want to hang out in peace. Jibeom's been complaining about Youngtaek nonstop."

Seungmin pouts, hugging his pillow. He isn't one to hold grudges and his anger has mostly simmered away, but somehow it's easier to hold onto the embers of rage than let himself be overcome by the waves of disappointment.

Unfortunately, no good things last forever. And by good things, Seungmin means his ongoing streak of successfully avoiding Youngtaek. It happens when he's on his way out of chem lab, brain fried from staring too long at small objects. Seungmin's eyes are glued to his phone when his face crashes into someone's chest, sending him stumbling backward.

"Oh my god, I'm so–" Seungmin starts.

Two very warm, very familiar hands grab him by his shoulders. They steady Seungmin, pulling him forward. Seungmin looks up and the words die at the tip of his tongue.

"Wait," Youngtaek blurts out before Seungmin can open his mouth. His chest heaves and his bangs are dark, pressed firmly against his forehead. There's a wild, desperate look in his eyes.

"Did you only talk to me because of a dare?" Seungmin spits before he can stop himself. Youngtaek's eyes widen in shock and his fingers curl into Seungmin's shoulders.

"I– that was–"

"And lunch too," Seungmin continues because the anger boiling inside of him has burst, "Was that also just because of some dumb dare? Is that the only reason we were 'friends?'" He's not sure who's shaking, him or Youngtaek, but Seungmin's whole body vibrates. He refuses to meet Youngtaek's gaze, afraid of what he'll see in those deep brown eyes.

"No! I-I mean I _was_ dared to ask out the cutest person at–"

And that's all he needs to hear.

Seungmin shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he exhales, he opens his eyes and shakes Youngtaek's hands off his shoulders. "I'm late for my next lecture," he says brusquely.

He's less than five meters away from Youngtaek before said man comes scrambling after him, jumping into the middle of the path to block Seungmin's path. _Does he ever give up?_ Seungmin wonders, gripping his backpack straps even more tightly. Seungmin could easily shove Youngtaek to the side, he knows how there's little muscle to his thin frame, but the fierce determination in Youngtaek's face makes him pause.

"Listen, Seungmin, I'm sorry– it's not what–" Youngtaek tries.

"I don't want to hear it," Seungmin says, brushing past Youngtaek. Nor does he care to. He's heard it all before, and the last two things Seungmin needs are to be ridiculed and for his heart to be broken. Especially by some dumb jock. The sooner he gets out of here, the better.

"The Spring Festival! Are you going?” Youngtaek shouts from behind him. Seungmin doesn’t dare turn around. “All the sports teams are going to be there."

Seungmin knows this. The Spring Festival is only the biggest festival of the year, a _huge_ deal for all university students and locals alike. It’s an even bigger deal for those on the university sports team where competition is rampant. They compete against one another not only at their adjacent stands– where they run games or sell food to raise money to sell food– but also compete to see which team has the most members successfully bringing dates. Seungmin knows that around this time of year, Jangjun is turning down invitations left and right from classmates who are misguidedly hoping to date him for real. Even for the regular student body, it's the time of year where people are asking their crushes to attend the festival together in the hopes of something else blossoming underneath the dazzling fireworks.

"No," Seungmin says as he continues forward.

"I wanted to ask you to come with me. As my date!" Youngtaek hollers.

Seungmin keeps his head down, ignoring the way his ears burn as other students turn to look at him. Something, _not_ hope flutters in his chest. _Loud_ , he thinks, _Youngtaek is always so loud_.

In the end, Seungmin does end up going to the Spring Festival. He tells himself that it's because it'd be a waste of a ticket otherwise and that this year, Crush is part of the rumored lineup. It most definitely isn't because Jibeom gives him a withering stare over lunch the day after Youngtaek corners him, carefully enunciating each word as he casually drops the fact that Youngtaek has been rather lackluster of late, sulking and moping around in their dorm, and it's been bringing down his mood as well. It also most definitely isn't due to the fact that for the past week, guilt has been stirring in Seungmin's mind as he replays the scene in his head, mulling over the fierce determination in Youngtaek's eyes. Seungmin did– does?– actually like Youngtaek, but his friends would have to pry that from his cold, dead hands.

"You good?" Sungyoon asks as he elbows his way past a few people. 

This morning, Sungyoon spent a good fifteen minutes dragging Seungmin out of his bed in his last-minute attempt to ditch. Sungyoon treats the Spring Festival like a religion. Every year, Sungyoon forces Seungmin to buy tickets with him the second they go on sale online for university students. Before when they were in high school, he’d drag Seungmin out before the crack of dawn, so they could queue up to get tickets to watch the main act. It’s tradition for him and Sungyoon to head to the festival, gorge themselves on sugary and oil treats, then watch the main act together. 

"Yeah, 'm fine," Seungmin closes his conversation with Youngtaek. He's been fiddling with his phone the entire day, opening and closing his messages to stare at the singular exchange he's had with Youngtaek since then.

It's hard not to become excited with the throngs of people and the chatter around them. Almost everyone is dressed in school gear, even Seungmin, who only owns one or two university shirts that he got for free.

"Do you think we should've tried to get closer?" Seungmin mutters.

"And gotten trampled over? No thanks," Sungyoon scoffs, "Besides, that's what the screens are for. You never cared about getting closer before. Why now?"

Seungmin shrugs and luckily Sungyoon drops the subject. Soon, the introductions start and Seungmin feels the thrill ripple through the crowd. He moves closer to the edge of his seat in anticipation. The crowd begins to roar, chanting loudly and stomping their feet as they await the university cheerleaders that always serve as the opener.

"Is that–" Seungmin squints, "Youngtaek?" His heart hammers in his chest, beating louder than the bass from the speakers. 

And sure enough, the camera decides to pan to Youngtaek. Youngtaek and his wide smile and bright eyes, panting slightly from just having done a backflip. Seungmin expected to see Youngtaek at the stalls with the rest of the basketball. (Secretly, he had been hoping the basketball team would be running the stand where strangers could chuck pies at their faces.) The last thing he expected was to see Youngtaek on stage, performing aerials in the colorful and elaborate outfit the cheerleaders get custom-made for the Spring Festival. He clearly has makeup on, lips painted a bright pink and eyes rimmed with eyeshadow, making his gaze more intense. Youngtaek winks, _winks_ , before moving to his next spot, sending out a quick finger heart before he rejoins the formation. There’s no way he could possibly know where Seungmin is seated. Not in a stadium this large.

"Yeah. He's a cheerleader, I thought you knew that already? You hang out with him all the time." Sungyooon says.

Seungmin flushes, pressing his mouth into a thin line as he continues to watch the cheerleaders– Youngtaek– perform on stage. It would certainly explain how both Sungyoon and Jangjun know Youngtaek. He feels the embarrassment crawl up the back of his neck. Embarrassment and guilt for being so quick to jump to conclusions and judge Youngtaek when that's what Seungmin has disdained his entire life.

It's not until most of the acts have passed and Seungmin has killed a couple of hours, alternating between third-wheeling Donghyun and Joochan and hanging out with Jangjun that his phone finally buzzes with a text.

He quickly navigates his way back to the stadium, pausing every so often to make sure he hasn't missed a familiar mop of black hair. He spots Jibeom first, his back to Seungmin's. He's standing next to an unfamiliar person wearing a familiar red and white varsity jacket from the basketball team. Youngtaek spots Seungmin from behind Jibeom and the other man, eyes lighting up. He says something to Jibeom and the other man before rushing over to Seungmin. Jibeom's smirk doesn't go unnoticed.

"Hey," he greets.

Seungmin blames the warmth in his chest on the humid night.

"Hey," Youngtaek says back. "I didn't actually think you'd come."

"Yeah, well," he shrugs. "Good performance. You were incredible."

"Thanks." Youngtaek fidgets, weight shifting side to side. His eyes meet Seungmin’s only to dart away, towards the other people milling about, before returning to Seungmin’s face once again.

Seungmin wipes his palms on his pants. Suddenly, the air is too warm and filled with too much energy. He becomes conscious of the constant flow of people beside them, the way they laugh without any restraint as they eat overpriced cotton candy and oily carnival foods. 

Seungmin has only had a couple of hours to prepare an apology but when he looks back up at Youngtaek, his mouth turns dry.

He squirms underneath the bright stadium lights. "I wanted to apologize, actually. I made some judgments about you because of who I thought you were. I've...had lots of bad experiences with jocks and I thought you were one. That's why I stopped talking to you after I found out about the dare."

Youngtaek stares at him, pupils dilated.

"I didn't know you were a cheerleader," Seungmin continues to ramble, "Not that I care if you're a jock or cheerleader. I just usually try to stay away from them, especially at parties."

"Oh. I thought you knew this whole time because of Sungyoon and Jangjun," Youngtaek says.

Seungmin wrinkles his nose. "Them? Like they would ever tell me anything useful."

Youngtaek throws back his head and laughs. Seungmin's lips spread into a smile of their own accord.

"That's true," he agrees. "I want to apologize too. I should've cleared things up much earlier. I actually told the guys you rejected me and took their punishment at the party."

This is new information. Seungmin is tempted to ask what exactly the punishment was but he knows enough from Jangjun's stories that it was probably dumb and outrageous. Judging from the way Youngtaek's nose scrunches up, it wasn't pleasant either. Maybe he'll save the question for another day.

"The jacket then...? That's why I thought you were a jock," Seungmin mumbles.

"Oh _that_?" Youngtaek asks and his face turns a brilliant shade of red. "I, uh, actually lost my shirt beforehand– please don't ask it's reallyreallyreallyembarrassing. Jibeom saw me and made Jaehyun give me his jacket. He only has it because he's been the ball boy for the past two years and his mom likes stuff like that. He's been promoted as a benchwarmer for the basketball team."

"So you two aren't..." Seungmin coughs trying to will down his flush.

Youngtaek shakes his head and hands vigorously. "No, no, no. Jaehyun?" he gasps, aghast. "I really could never. That would break so many roommate rules. Also, Jaehyun? "

"You don't need to make fun of me for it," Seungmin huffs but he's smiling.

Youngtaek takes a step forward until his breath fans Seungmin's face with a pleasant warmth. His hands hover near Seungmin's side and the summertime air is pleasantly warm on Seungmin's skin. Youngtaek's entire face is lit with glee.

"You thought I was wearing Jaehyun's jacket and got worried because you like me," Youngtaek says smugly.

Above them, the stadium lights hum. The sky roars as fiery reds and bright blues erupt across the deep blue-black backdrop, leaving a trail of smoke in their place. A chorus of _oos_ and _aas_ resound from the stadium beside them. Right now, all Seungmin can see is the sparkle in Youngtaek's eyes and his wide grin.

"You like me, don't you?" Youngtaek repeats.

Seungmin scoffs, snatching Youngtaek's hands by his side because _they keep on hovering at his side_. "Shut up," he says. Shock flashes in Youngtaek's eyes as Seungmin's grip tightens, putting Youngtaek's on his waist. Seungmin delights in the panic and jubilation that follows as one hand cups Youngtaek's cheek and the other yanks him down so their lips can finally meet.

**Author's Note:**

> \+ jaehyun's varsity jacket is a pity varsity jacket  
> \+ bomin is also the star of his team!! unfortunately i was unable to include him  
> \+ joochan is your musical/acapella boi  
> \+ are dongchan dating?? maybe, maybe not ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
